Who was the first woman to win the ‘Best Original Song’ Oscar?
It should come as no surprise to learn that the Academy Awards have never championed diversity, having routinely faced backlash from celebrities and the general public. People have expressed many issues with the Oscars over the years, like the fact that a black filmmaker has never won ‘Best Director’ or that it took 81 years for a woman to win the prize.
White men have dominated Hollywood for years, making it harder for women to earn major behind-the-scenes roles as directors, cinematographers or composers. The industry is full of sexism and abuses of power, as evidenced by the #MeToo movement that has gained traction over the past few years. As a result of these issues, many women have struggled to gain fair access to jobs in the film industry, while many women have been put off from even attempting to break into such a male-dominated environment.
Of course, there have always been women who have pushed boundaries and proved that women are just as capable as men at directing large teams, coming up with unique and creative ideas, and handling complex equipment. Why wouldn’t women be able to? Sadly, it has taken many years for people to acknowledge this, and although the industry is increasingly awarding more opportunities to women of all backgrounds thanks to people speaking out about discrimination and prejudice, it is still disappointing to recognise how long it has taken for significant progress to have taken place.
The ‘Best Original Song’ category has existed since 1934, with Con Conrad and Herb Magidson taking home the first prize for their song ‘The Continental’, which features in the movie The Gay Divorcee. From there, many names repeatedly earned nominations and wins, like Henry Mancini, Paul Francis Webster, and Sammy Cahn. While Dorothy Fields managed to win ‘Best Original Song’ alongside Jerome Kern for her lyrical contributions to the Swing Time track ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ in 1936, it wasn’t until 1976 that a woman was recognised as a composer.
42 years after the category was made, Barbra Streisand made history as the first woman to earn an Oscar for composing an original song for a movie. The song was ‘Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)’, with lyrics contributed by Paul Williams. Soundtracking the hit movie A Star Is Born from Frank Pierson, the song was also performed by Streisand, who played the main character in the film alongside Kris Kristofferson.
The movie was penned by Pierson with writer Joan Didion and her husband, John Gregory Dunne. It remains one of Streisand’s greatest performances, and while she didn’t win an Oscar for it, she was recognised for composing the gorgeous theme song.
Barbra Streisand’s Academy Awards
This wasn’t Streisand’s first Oscar win, though. A few years earlier, Streisand won her first Academy Award for her performance in Funny Girl, directed by William Wyler. It was her first film role, yet straight away she scooped up an Oscar nomination for ‘Best Actress’ which she swiftly won, although she shared her award with Katharine Hepburn for her role in The Lion in Winter after the vote resulted in a tie. Still, tying with an acting legend is pretty impressive for your first Oscar win.
Streisand has also received Oscar nominations for various other accomplishments, including ‘Best Actress’ for her performance in 1974’s The Way We Were, ‘Best Picture’ for her own movie, The Princess of Tides, and another ‘Best Original Song’ nod for ‘I Finally Found Someone’ from The Mirror Has Two Faces.
